New Jersey Man Charged in Fatal Hit-and-Run That Killed Two Teens in Townsend

TOWNSEND, Del. – A New Jersey man has been arrested and charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash that killed two teenage pedestrians in Townsend.

Delaware State Police have arrested 23-year-old Nizaiah Ellis of Newfield, New Jersey, on two counts of leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death and one count of failure to report a collision resulting in death. He was arraigned and committed to the Delaware Department of Correction on a $12,050 secured bond.

In the early hours of Saturday, Jun. 20, two pedestrians were walking an electric bike near the left lane of southbound Dupont Parkway. At the same time, a Nissan Altima was traveling toward the pedestrians when, for unknown reasons, it struck them. Following the collision, police say the driver initially stopped but then continued traveling southbound, leaving the scene.

Troopers later located the Nissan traveling southbound on Dupont Parkway near Paddock Road in Smyrna and conducted a traffic stop. Troopers contacted the driver, identified as Ellis, and observed damage to the Nissan consistent with the collision. Ellis was taken into custody without incident.

The victims,  identified 17-year-olds Nathan Sinex and Cara Feeley, both from Townsend, Delaware, were pronounced dead on the scene.

The roadway was closed for approximately four hours while the scene was investigated and cleared.

The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash or has information related to the incident to contact investigators.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article stated that Ellis was taken into custody in New Jersey when he was actually taken into custody in Smyrna, Delaware. A correction has been issued to fix the error.